Thuja plicata, commonly known as 'Western Red Cedar', or 'Arborvitae', is native to the Pacific Northwest and has gained popularity among landscapers and homeowners for privacy screens. This member of the cypress family has naturally flowing branches and soft, fragrant, evergreen foliage, and a full-bodied pyramidal form that makes them attractive all year round! These trees can literally provide complete privacy with little maintenance in just a few years.

Western Red Cedars look great when left in their natural shape, but if you are interested in a more traditional look, they respond extremely well to shearing of pruning for a more uniform shape. Not only can they be used as an attractive privacy hedge, but they also act as a wind buffer and they can help filter dust and other pollutants from traffic on nearby driveways and roads.

The ease of growing arborvitae is partly because they tolerate almost any soil type, are cold hardy, and somewhat deer resistant. They are not picky plants, however, they do best when planted in ideal conditions such as moist, well-drained soil, adequate water, and full to part sun. Once established, they are drought tolerant and don’t need much attention other than seasonal watering adjustments. Be careful to not overwater them, especially during the hottest days of summer!

There are several different cultivars of Western Red Cedar. Although they all share similar characteristics in foliage, form, location needs, one difference is the rate of growth and size at maturity. These trees are very easy to maintain your desired height and width.

Hick's Yew is a distinctive shrub with a lot of character when compared to other evergreen conifers or broadleaf shrubs used for privacy screening. Graceful, long, upright branches are covered with lush, petite, glossy, dark evergreen foliage. With an overall slow growth rate of about 12” per year, and 10-12 feet tall and 3-4 feet wide at maturity, it is a relatively easy maintenance plant for narrow spaces where you need a tall hedge or privacy screen.

Its resilience as a popular choice for a privacy screen is because of its dense, columnar growth that responds exceptionally well to heavy shearing or pruning by becoming denser. For added interest, Hick’s Yew produces red berries in fall, but if you are in need of seedless variety, then the male ‘H.M. Eddie’ is also an option.

Hick’s and H.M. Eddie yews are equally happy in full sun or full shade. So whether you live in hot and bright, or cool and shady climates and locations, you are bound to have success. Yews can tolerate a wide range of soils but do best in a well-draining area. To help encourage robust and healthy root growth, make sure it is well watered for at least the first few months after planting.

Adding a few inches of leaf or wood chip mulch will help insulate the roots from extreme winter and summer temperatures, and retain moisture throughout the year. Once established, they are drought tolerant but will grow best when it is watered after the soil has been allowed to dry out.

Clumping bamboo (Fargesia ‘Rufa’) is just as visually attractive as it is effective as a privacy screen. Reaching up to 10 feet tall, it has a tight clumping habit and mounding form that doesn’t spread far from its original planting. Not only does it have the classic lush evergreen stems and leaves of bamboo, but it is also one of the first to send out noticeable bright orange-red shoots new shoots in the spring that really stand out among greens and browns of the post-winter landscape. This versatile plant is a great choice for someone that wants a low maintenance privacy screen that is easy to grow.

'Rufa' is one of several species lumped under the common name ‘hardy bamboo’ but is more heat tolerant and able to handle full sun without leaf curl. It is also more cold hardy than other types of 'hardy bamboo’, but with the same clumping growth habit, and ability to grow well in both sun or shade. The perfect location is somewhere with at least four hours of filtered sun or better. It will grow faster with more sun, which means a faster privacy screen. Keep in mind that sunnier sites will require more watering not just because of evaporation. They consume more water as they grow faster. It prefers well-draining that is rich in organic material.

Adequate watering during the transplant establishment period is the key to success. They should be watered well until the soil is saturated and moist, then allowed to dry out before the next watering. The amount of time between watering has many variables so it’s helpful to have a moisture meter to probe below the soil. Otherwise, you can dig down 6-8 inches just inside the perimeter of the root ball. If the soil clings, it’s moist, if it falls apart, it’s on the dry side.

Remember when we mentioned ‘low maintenance’? After your bamboo is established, other than making sure it’s water needs are met, it is virtually self-maintaining. Just leave the dropped leaves on the ground for a winter mulch to insulate the roots and retain moisture over winter and summer. As an added bonus, it will help keep weeds down in spring, and eventually, break down releasing matter and nutrients back into the soil.

The sculptural fronds of ferns provide lots of winter interest, and Western Sword Fern is one of the toughest, most drought tolerant, and easiest ferns to grow in the Rogue Valley. 

This native fern can tolerate our dry summers and wet winters and even take a little sun. It prefers to be an understory plant but established ferns in good, composty soil will tolerate quite a bit of sun. The key is to get them well established with deep waterings the first few summers and applications of yearly leaf mulch or compost mulch. Western Sword Fern has a courser texture than some more delicate ferns but that makes their fronds last longer, allowing them to be used in cut flower arrangements. The leathery, dark green fronds can be 2-4' tall depending where they are grown and can be used alone or look especially good in clumps or drifts. 

We like to use Western Sword Ferns under large trees, like oaks, combined with Euphorbia purpurea, Heuchera sanguinea or the purple leafed varieties of Coral bells, Mahonia repens, and other dry shade perennials and shrubs. All ferns are deer resistant and the Western Sword Fern is no exception. They are evergreen but will look their best with an annual shearing of the oldest fronds in spring to allow the new fronds to uncurl. Leave the old, pruned fronds as a natural mulch.  Ferns are always interesting to watch throughout the seasons and Western Sword Fern makes an especially nice evergreen specimen in the shade garden.

Another plant we love to sing the praises of: evergreen, usually compact, deer resistant and drought tolerant - with flowers that last 3 months or more. And the only thing you have to do to enjoy them is to not overwater and prune the flower stems back to the base of the plant after blooming is done. This photo shows a Euphorbia characias variety with a Allium 'Purple Sensation' in the foreground. Flowering begins in early spring and will easily last into July. The flowers are set off by the larger bracts, thus lasting longer than a typical petaled flower. When flowering stalks start to brown or look faded, just prune the flower stem all the way to the ground so the new stems can fill in.

As an added bonus, Euphorbias are evergreen in all but the coldest Rogue Valley winters, and their foliage tends to color up in winter; providing a nice visual interest in the winter garden. Euphorbias will take full sun to half a day of sun and need well draining soil. They all have a white sap in their stems keeping the deer at bay but can also cause a rash in some people, so wear gloves when pruning Euphorbias.

There are many varieties of Euphorbia and here are some of our favorites that we usually carry: